Visual Glossary
Flattened rock with foliation versus stretched rock with lineation. Illustration by Anne Crowder.
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Foliation
Foliation forms when pressure squeezes flat or elongate minerals within
a rock so they become aligned. These rocks develop a platy
or sheet-like structure that reflects the direction that pressure was
applied in. Slate,
schist, and gneiss (pronounced 'nice') are all foliated metamorphic rocks.
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It's not hard to see that this metamorphic rock, called
gneiss, has been foliated, then intensely folded. Photo
by Edward P. Klimasauskas, USGS.
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